Devices such as directional drills are used in industry to bore openings underground for pipes, cables, etc. Directional drills typically use a number of drill rods to form a drill stem. The drill rods are inserted one at a time during a forward drilling operation, and are removed one at a time after the bore has reached a desired depth or length in order to remove the drill stem from the bore. Although an example of a directional drill is used in the following descriptions, other ground drills utilizing a number of drill rods to form a drill stem are also contemplated to be within the scope of the invention.
Drill rods are typically joined together to form the drill stem using a mating threaded joint formed with the ends of the drill rods. In one example, each drill rod includes a male fitting and a female fitting sized and shaped to engage with similar fittings on drill rods to form the drill stem. In this configuration, several drill rods can be housed in a small space (e.g., a magazine) prior to assembly along the drill stem. In some examples, the fittings of a drill rod are individually lubricated as the stem is assembled. The fittings are individually lubricate with, for instance, grease prior to coupling with another drill rod to form a portion of the drill stem. The lubrication of the fittings allows for easy coupling between the drill rods and also facilitates easy separation when the drill stem is removed from the bore.
Lubricating each fitting as needed to assemble the drill stem adds an additional step to the process of coupling a drill rod along the drill stem. This adds labor and cost to drilling. Moreover, it is easy for the operator to forget to grease the fittings or poorly grease the fittings thereby making coupling and uncoupling at the threaded joint difficult. Additionally, greasing is performed on the fittings with a wire brush and a container of grease, in some examples. This greasing technique can make a mess around the controls adjacent to the drill stem and around the driving unit for the directional drill making operation of the directional drill more difficult.
What is needed is a greasing apparatus and method that efficiently and cleanly applies grease to the fittings. What is also needed is a greasing apparatus and method that ensures application of grease to each fitting.